Improved refrigerator



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS S. BLAKE AND OMEN E. MOSHER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED PLEFRIGERATOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45.690, dated January 3, 1865 antedated February 12, 1864.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, THoMAs S. BLAKE and OMEN O. MOSHER, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Refrigerator or Ice-House for Preserving Meats and Vegetables; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the same, rei'- erence being` had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ot' thisl specification, in Which- Figure 1 is a vertical section ot' our invention, taken in the lille x w, Fig. 2, Fig. 2,21- plan or top View of the same with the top removed.

Similar letters ot reference indicate corre spending parts in thc two iigures.

This invention relates to a new and improved refrigerator, which is principally designed for operation on a large scale for the use of butchers, &c.

The invention consists in a novel and improved arrangement ot' an ice-chamber with the provision-chamber, as hereinafter fully shown and described, whereby great economy is obtained in the consumption of ice, and at the same time the construetion'ot' the. refrigerator or ice-houserendered extremely simple and economical. y

To enable those skilled in the art to iully understand and construct our invention, we will proceed to describe it.

A represents a rectangular case or box, provided with double walls a a, having any suitable noircondueting substance between them, such as charcoal, chat't', &c. At one end of the case or box there is a door, B, through which the articles to be preserved are placed in the box or case.

O represents an inclined rack, which is placed within the case or box at its upper part and near one end of it. This rack, in connection with a slat bottom, D, forms anicechamber, which is supplied with ice through a door, E, in one side ot' the case or box. The rack O is inclined from its lower end upward and (utward toward the door B, as shown clearly in Fig. l. The rack O is formed of a series of slats, b, attached to two horizontal bars, o c, and at the outer side of said rack there is secured a sheet-metal plate, D', between which and the outer side of the rack there is a space, d, which forms an air-chamber. Just below the slat bottom D there is a trough, E, which is slightly inclined, to carry oft" the water discharged from the ice-chamber, a hole being made in one side of the case or box to admit of said water passing out.`

The ice-chamber, it will be seen by referring to Fig. 1, gradually diminishes in width from its upper to its lower end, owing to the inclination of the rack C, and the ice-chamber extends the whole width of the interior of the case or box, but is not much more than onehalt' the depth of the latter, and is consequently of much less dimension than the other portion ot' the case or box, which comprises the provision-chamber.

When the ice-chamber is supplied with ice, a current of ascending warm air will pass through the airspace or chamber d, and will be cooled as it issues from the upper end ot` d, and will descend by its gravity to the lower part of the provisionchamber to take the place ot' the ascending warm air, which, as it enters into the lower end of d, is compelled to pass over the water through E, the water in which, in consequence of being cold or much lower in temperature than the'warm air, absorbs some ot' its heat and cools said air before it enters d. Thus the waste ice-water is made available as a cooling medium. VThis water is drawn from the trough E from time to time as the latter becomes iilled, a plug or faucet, ax, being :fitted in one side of the casel or box for that purpose. By having the rack U inclined, as shown, a large cooling surface is presented to the air in passing through d, and at the same time thelce-chamber is quite of limited dimensions. lf the rack C were vertical, and a broad bottom consequently provided for the ice-chamber, it will be seen that a less cooling-surface would be presented to the air in d, and of course a less quantity ot' ice presented to the rack O. The arrows in Fig. l show the direction of the current of air.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The arrangement of the air-chamber d, rack C, and conducting-plate D', with the bottom D, water-trough and plate E, and box A, all in the manner herein shown and described.

THOMAS S. BLAKE. OMEN E. MOSHER.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. REED, D. ROBERTSON. 

